


Sweet Dreams

by Hayate



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Kink Meme, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-18
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-26 00:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/644392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hayate/pseuds/Hayate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had to fix it.</p><p>He had to make sure that Pitch was alright.</p><p>He had to help the Boogeyman if the help was needed.</p><p>Sandy made his mind. He would find Pitch, and he would make sure that everything was fine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Guilty Sandman

**Author's Note:**

> My first story in English. I apologize in advance for any mistakes (I don't have a beta-reader for the moment).
> 
> Inspired by this prompt ob the RotG kink meme :  
> http://rotg-kink.dreamwidth.org/2200.html?thread=2018200

Sandy couldn’t believe he let that happen. The Nightmares, created from his Dream Sand, attacked Pitch in front of his eyes, and he did nothing to help the Boogeyman. He just stood there, with his friends, happy that their enemy was finally gone. How could he? Why did he let himself be so cruel?

Granted, Pitch _was_ their enemy – he wanted to terrify all those innocent children and Guardians had to protect them. He stole the Sandman’s Dream Sand to create nightmares. He nearly killed Sandy and only the belief of the children that his fellow Guardians befriended saved the Guardian of Dreams.

After his great comeback, seeing how Pitch was trying to fight the Guardians and hurt the children, Sandy was furious. But still, all that was not enough to feel no remorse when Pitch was dragged, kicking and screaming, by the Nightmares into the dark abyss of the nightmare world. And so, after much more time than Sandy felt comfortable to admit, he started feeling guilty that he let that happen. That he was actually laughing carelessly with his friends when just a few meters away Pitch was scared beyond reason. That, for the longest time, he was actually happy that the Boogeyman was gone. But most of all, he felt guilty that he nor any other Guardian, stopped to think about Pitch’s reasons for what he did and that neither of them tried to help him.

The truth was, after giving it some thought, Sandy knew what Pitch felt and what pushed him to do all that he did. He knew, but he couldn’t say he fully comprehended the Nightmares King’s feelings. The only one, who could achieve that, would be Jack.

Because of the Guardians no-one believed in the Boogeyman anymore. No child was afraid of him. Pitch was invisible and powerless. The only thing he really wanted was to be believed in. He wanted to be seen and heard. Essentially, he wished for the same thing as Jack. The only difference between these two was that Jack’s way of making the children believe in him was through making them have fun in the snow. Pitch had to scare them. And he never had much choice in that matter.

The Guardians were supposed to protect children and make them happy so it was obvious from the very beginning that they would oppose Pitch. Pitch knew that and it was probably the reason why he attacked them first. And since Sandy’s Dream Sand was the best way to get to all of the world’s children, it was the best weapon for Pitch to use. It was also the best weapon to defeat the Boogeyman with, so it was no wonder that Pitch took out the Sandman as soon as he got the chance.

Sandy knew all of that. At some unconscious level, he sympathized with Pitch. The Boogeyman must have been lonely throughout all of the centuries of being unseen, hidden in the shadows. He must have been jealous of all the love that the Guardians received from the children. He wanted all of that for himself but since he couldn’t have that love he decided to exchange it for fear. But Sandy, so much focused on the anger that he felt towards the Boogeyman for hurting the children and for hurting him, ignored this feeling of sympathy in favor of busing himself with work, trying to fix whatever problem the Boogeyman might have caused.

Sandy was quite good at ignoring that feeling. So good actually, that he didn’t know it existed until one fateful night, nearly a month after defeating the Boogeyman.

The night was dark and cold. Much colder than it should have been this time of the year. Thick clouds darkened the sky, blocking any light that the moon and stars might have given. During nights like these children needed dreams the most, so the Sandman was busy at work. He flew on his Dream Cloud high above the town, sending strands of Dream Sand to each and every child. The golden strands floated to the bedrooms of the children giving them beautiful dreams of adventures, games and fun. Sandy was happy sensing the smiles on children’s faces as they dreamed the dreams he created for them.

Sandy was already at the outskirts of town, ready to move to the nearby village, when he felt something strange.

Ever since Pitch stole his Dream Sand, Sandy was super-cautious about the strands he sent to children. So when somebody who wasn’t supposed to was touching the sand, he knew it. Just like right now.

Somebody disturbed the flow of his sand.

This particular strand flew to the bedroom of little Kate. Her parents had divorced last week. It was a very stressful experience for such a young innocent soul and so she needed every good dream she could get.

Sandman didn’t hesitate. Immediately, he flew to Kate’s bedroom. What he saw there, made his sandy-blood run cold.

Little Kate was asleep in her bed, surrounded by plushy, colorful toys. Her brows were furrowed, cold sweat was visible on her tiny face. The poor girl was terrified. A single Nightmare floated above her head.

When Sandy entered the bedroom, Nightmare lifted its grotesque head and looked at him with its yellow, empty eyes. It waited for his move.

Sandy was angry. One quick leap brought him right next to the bed. He quickly grabbed the Nightmare by its mane. It tried to run away, to slip through his grasp, but the Sandman was quicker. He forced his dreams through the Nightmare, and soon the black sand turned golden.

Kate’s dream was changing slowly. Sandy could see as the terrified look on the girl’s face slipped away giving room for a warm smile.

Sandy was ready to give the girl a little smile on his own and leave the room when an idea struck him. If a Nightmare was here, did it mean that Pitch was already free?

No, it couldn’t be true. The Boogeyman was weak when the Nightmares dragged him to their Realm. It would take him years to gather enough strength to get free. Until then he was trapped. Trapped with hundreds if not thousands of Nightmares harassing him every minute and every second.

 _It’s what Pitch deserves!_ Sandy nodded to himself in agreement. But he stopped suddenly.

Did he really just wish bad dreams on somebody?

He did. He wanted Pitch to be plagued with Nightmares. For what he had done to him and to the children, Pitch deserved that. That’s what he believed for the last month, wasn’t it? But it was wrong. It was so wrong. He was the Sandman! He created good dreams for the children. His greatest wish was for everyone to only have happy dreams, always. Pitch shouldn’t be any different. Of course, he made mistakes, he threatened the safety and well-being of the children but he had his reasons – Sandy knew of them. He just didn’t like to think about them because the more he did, the more he realized that the Guardians were not completely blameless. They knew of Pitch’s desire to be seen and feared. They knew that the Boogeyman wouldn’t give up until he succeeded. They also knew that maybe, if only they had given him a chance and companionship, Pitch would have had no reason to attack. Yet, they did nothing to prevent disaster.

The worst was that Sandy did nothing. He did nothing to stop Pitch before he became a real danger but he also did nothing to stop Pitch from becoming dangerous at all. He never considered helping the King of Nightmares to find believers in a peaceful way. Even if it might have not been possible, he should have tried.

Sandy also did nothing to save Pitch from the Nightmares. Even worse – he was glad that they caught him. He wanted Pitch to suffer as much as he made the children suffer. As much as he made him suffer by corrupting his sand and killing him. And Sandy never felt guilty about it. Not until the moment when he saw little Kate’s face, scrunched in fear, trapped in nightmare.

It was the most horrible sight the Sandman, Guardian of Dreams, could think of and he wanted that on Pitch? How could he? Even though they were the greatest enemies, Sandman shouldn’t condemn the Boogeyman to such a fate. Yet, he let that happen with a smile on his face.

Sandy felt sick. How could he? How could he let Pitch suffer nightmares for such a long time and not care about it t all? How could he let that happen?

He had to fix it.

He had to make sure that Pitch was alright.

He had to help the Boogeyman if the help was needed.

Sandy made his mind. He would find Pitch, and he would make sure that everything was fine.

The Guardian left Kate’s bedroom. He lifted himself on his Dream Cloud high above the town.

The first thing he needed to do was to find a way to the Nightmare Realm. Actually, it was easier than some might think. An entrance to the Realm could be found in any place that evoked fear. Dark allies, abandoned houses, spaces under the children’s beds – all of them were connected in some way to the Realm. The problem was, even though Sandy worked at night, he was pretty powerful being of light and as such he needed an entrance big and strong enough to let him pass.

The Sandman scanned the town. Soon his eyes caught the sight of and an old, crumbling house just outside the boundaries of the town. The darkness of the night seemed much denser around the building. It looked as though black mist surrounded the whole area.

Sandy smiled brightly. He found his entrance!

Not loosing even a second, Sandy transformed his cloud into a plane. He flew straight to the house and jumped inside though a broken window. The plane disappeared behind him and he collected the Dream Sand carefully back into his hands – he figured he would need every single grain if he was to enter the Nightmare Realm. Just in case.

Sandy looked for the darkest corner. He found it just to his right. Giving himself no time to think through what he was about to do, he closed his eyes and stepped into the darkness.

The worlds shifted.

Sandy didn’t need to open his eyes to know that he wasn’t in his Realm anymore. The air was heavier here, full of dust with slight aftertaste of sulfur. The darkness was so thick that he actually felt it crawling on his skin. Even with eyes opened, he couldn’t see a thing. But those were just slight inconveniences.

The thing that set off the Sandman the most was fear. The emotion was so strong here that even though he himself wasn’t afraid, he could feel it surrounding him. It made him want to leave this place as soon as possible and never come back.

He knew he could do just that. He would just have to step back, let the worlds shift again and be done with it. But he didn’t. He had a mission to accomplish and he wasn’t going to give up so easily.

Sandy took a deep breath. He let his sand spread all around him. The faint light of the Dream Sand illuminated the hallway the Sandman found himself in. It was long and dark, full of nooks and crannies that were big enough for the Nightmares to hide in.

The floor was covered in thin layer of the Black Sand. The sight made the Sandman angry. To see so much of his sand, corrupted and used with bad intentions, now discarded, was enough to make him forget for a minute that he was here to help Pitch and not scold him for what he had done. But the Sandman managed to calm himself down. He could always convert the Black Sand back to his Dream Sand and that was what he did.

He knelt down and put his hand on the floor. The Black Sand resisted him, but Sandy was stronger. In just a couple of seconds the hall was lit brightly by the Dream Sand that covered every flat surface.

Sandy smiled brightly. He not only managed to convert the sand in the hallway but he also started a chain reaction. Every black grain would be turned back into his Dream Sand as soon as it touched any golden grain. With the Dream Sand swirling around the whole place it shouldn’t take long. Moreover, the Sand should help him find the man he was looking for.

Sandy closed his eyes and concentrated. The Dream Sand rose into the air. For a minute, it just hovered a few centimeters above the ground. Then, suddenly, it moved, all grains at once. They flew in all directions covering more of the Nightmare Realm in a matter of seconds than Sandy could in hours.

The Sand sent images to the Sandman. The Guardian, behind his closed eyes, could see the hallways, rooms and even spaces behind the walls that his Sand penetrated. In none could he spot the Boogeyman.

After a couple of minutes Sandy begun to worry. Pitch was nowhere to be seen. So were the Nightmares. Where was he? Did he manage to escape the Realm? Or maybe, the Nightmares managed to defeat him?

No! He couldn’t think like that! Pitch couldn’t be gone, because that would mean that they, they Guardians had killed him. That he had killed him.

Then he saw him. A strand of his sand entered an enormous, circular chamber. In the very middle of it, lied Pitch.

Sandy didn’t wait to see more. His eyes snapped open. With his fists clenched and his face stern, he rose into the air and rushed to the chamber, his sand guiding him.

The trip, even though he traveled at his top speed, took more than ten minutes. No wonder it took so long for the Dream Sand to find Pitch.

The object of Sandman’s concern was motionless, lying on the floor, just like in his vision. All around him, however, were small piles of sand, all in shape of little, grotesque horses.

Sandy gasped. Those were leftovers of Nightmares. The Nightmares must have been attacking Pitch when his Dream Sand entered the chamber and converted them back to the golden sand.

Sandy leaned to look at Pitch’s face. It was calm but it looked so terribly tired that Sandy’s heart clenched. After closer inspection, the Sandman noticed heavy bags under the Boogeyman’s eyes and deep wrinkles around them. There were also bruises all over his visible skin. Sandy was afraid of what he might have found if he dared to look under the black fabric covering Pitch’s body.

Sandy fell to his knees. He checked Pitch’s forehead. It was warm. Pitch was a spirit of the darkness and he was supposed to be cold to touch. Warmth meant bad news.

The Sandman bit his lower lip. He knew he had to help. He just didn’t know how. And Pitch seemed to look worse with every passing second.

Eventually Sandman made up his mind. First of all, he would let Pitch have some real rest. Sleeping on a cold floor couldn’t be comfortable. With a simple thought he formed a large, comfy cushion under Pitch and himself. Then he set to move Pitch into a more comfortable position. It wasn’t easy seeing as Pitch was at least twice as tall as he was. His limbs were long and heavy and they seemed to be just everywhere! Sandy nearly fell from the cushion a couple of times before he managed to set Pitch legs straight. At least putting his arms on his chest was easier.

Sandy looked at his masterpiece. And then he paled. Lying like that, Pitch looked as though he was dead, ready to be put in a coffin. This just wouldn’t do. Sandy set to work once again. This time he put Pitch on his side, legs bent a little, and hand under his chin. This position looked much more comfortable, and Pitch himself looked just adorable. Sandy laughed soundlessly at the thought. Who would think that Pitch had the capability to look adorable?

Now, that Pitch looked comfortable enough to sleep peacefully there was only one thing the Sandman could do for him. And it was what he was best at.

In his hands, Sandy created a pulsing ball of Dream Sand. Aiming carefully, he dropped it on top of Pitch’s head. The Dream Sand lingered above the Boogeyman’s forehead for a second and then it rose into the air, forming a whole swarm of golden butterflies.

A small smile formed on Pitch’s lips.

Sandy felt proud. Giving children good dream always brought him happiness. It seemed that the same applied for Pitch and Sandy couldn’t help but smile at the work well done.

Then he yawned.

He was exhausted. After all, not only he traveled to the Nightmare Realm, what in itself was pretty tiring, but also converted billions of grains of Black Sand into his Dream Sand. All that worry about Pitch wasn’t helping him either. He needed some rest but he couldn’t leave Pitch alone now – not until he made sure that the Boogeyman was completely alright.

And so Sandy decided to do the best thing he could think of while not leaving Pitch’s side. He let himself fall on the cushion next to Pitch. With his sand still flying around the Nightmare Realm, converting all of the blackened sand back to the golden version, he felt pretty much safe. If something were to happen, he was sure he would be able to wake up on time.

Sandy closed his eyes, his body relaxed and soon he found himself falling into the land of sweet dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There're going to be 2 more parts. Any comments, especially those that would help with grammar, will be appreciated.


	2. The Dream about Butterflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long bu the next part is finally here. This chapter is from Pitch's point of view.
> 
> Also, I have to warn you that I've never read the books (though I really want to) so everything about Pitch's powers I wrote in this part is my interpretation based on the movie. In case it not clear in the text, I think that Pitch real power lies in contolling darkness and evoking fear. He created Nightmares by forcing both darkness and fear into Sandy's Dream Sand. 
> 
> And here is something extra: I made a picture to this story. You can find it here:
> 
> http://hayatepl.deviantart.com/art/Sweet-Dreams-350255569

When Pitch woke up he felt rested. It was the first time in what felt like ages that he wasn’t already tired after sleeping. He was pleasantly surprised at the fact. So much that he decided, contrary to his habits, not to get up immediately but to lie for just a couple of minutes more.

Pitch sighed and burrowed himself deeper into the soft surface he was lying on. What was it? He didn’t remember making it to his bed the day before… It didn’t matter. It was comfortable, soft and for some reason it smelled of beach and ocean, and it felt just too perfect to worry about it.

But something was wrong. Pitch just didn’t know what. His bedroom was safe from the Nightmares so he knew that the lack of Black Sand creatures was nothing unusual. His bed usually wasn’t as soft as that but then again, when you have just woken up, everything seems more comfortable. But if it wasn’t the lack of Nightmares and unusual softness of the bed, then what was it?

Pitch almost groaned. He knew the subject wouldn’t leave him and he wouldn’t be able to rest if he didn’t figure out quickly what was wrong. But, truth be told, he just simply didn’t want to move.

The Boogeyman turned on his side, burrowing his face in a pillow, blocking out the light that tried to sip through his closed eyelids.

Wait… how come there was light in his bedroom?

The thought woke him up completely. He bolted up into a sitting position. And then he froze.

The first thing that came to his mind was that he certainly wasn’t in his bedroom. The bed he had been sleeping on just a few minutes ago, was also not his. To be honest, it wasn’t even a real bed. It was a giant cushion with a dozen of pillows of different sizes on top. All of which were made of the golden Dream Sand. In fact, the Dream Sand filled the whole chamber. Amazing sand creatures were walking freely around the chamber among exotic plants. Just below the ceiling floated images of other planets and constellations, bathing the room in pale yellow glow.

Pitch would have probably been amazed by the display – even though his job was to evoke fear, he still could appreciate real beauty – if the fact that it was in his Realm wasn’t so disturbing. There could be only one reason for its presence and that reason was sleeping peacefully right next to him. The Sandman.

With a smile on his face, his round cheeks, small hands placed on his huge belly, he looked almost serene. But still, it was the Sandman. Pitch’s greatest enemy, his nemesis. And Pitch was still weak.

The Boogeyman nearly run away as soon as he saw him but he stopped himself. Sudden movements could wake the Sandman up and Pitch didn’t want that.

Instead of running away, Pitch moved slowly and very carefully to the edge of the cushion. He looked back to see if he disturbed the Sandman but the golden man was still fast asleep.

He looked so vulnerable like that. It wouldn’t be hard to infect him with the Black Sand right now. Chances were, the Sandman wouldn’t even wake up until the change was complete.

Pitch couldn’t stop himself. He reached into the air and grabbed handful of the Dream Sand. Using just a little bit of his power he turned the golden sand black.

Unfortunately, the change woke the Sandman up.

The sand that floated around the chamber just a second ago, gently fell onto the floor. The Guardian blinked a couple of times sleepily. He yawned and slowly sat up looking around with dreamy eyes. When he noticed Pitch, he smiled broadly, completely missing the sight of blackened sand in the Boogeyman’s hand. Above his head appeared an image of bed followed by a question mark.

“How did I sleep?” Pitch translated. “Well, I guess.”

Pitch jumped onto the floor secretly disposing of the sand in his hand. He hoped that with a little bit of luck, Sandman wouldn’t notice anything.

“The real question is, what are you doing here, Sandman?”

More images flashed above the Guardians head. The changes were so quick that Pick barely had time to interpret their meaning.

“You were worried about me?” His tone was skeptical. “You do remember that it was you and your friends who tossed me here, right?”

Sandman puffed his cheeks. He created little Nightmares dragging Pitch into a hole.

“Yes, but you were there and I as recall you were pretty happy about the outcome.”

Pitch didn’t get any picture answer. Instead, Sandman lowered his head in shame. When he looked back at Pitch, his eyes were full of guilt. The meaning was clear: _I’m sorry_.

“Sorry is not enough!” Pitch snapped. “Do you know what I had to go through in here?! Of course you don’t. You’re the Sandman. Nightmares are nothing to you and your Dream Sand!”

Sandman looked startled at his violent remark. His surprise, however, quickly turned into anger. In response to Pitch’s accusation he composed an image of the arrow that the Boogeyman had thrown at him. The arrow was quickly replaced by a tiny floating Sandman who in turn burst into a small cloud which formed dozens of Nightmares. The Nightmares then changed into tiny arrows, all of them pointing accusingly at Pitch.

“So I turned you into Nightmares,” Pitch discarded the subject. “I am evil and you know that. It was to be expected. You and your friends, on the other hand, are supposed to be the good guys. And good guys don’t let others to be tortured. That’s not how it works. I told you already, sorry is not enough,” the Boogeyman added, seeing Sandman’s expression change once again to apologetic. “Just go away, I don’t want you here. Leave me alone.”

Pitch turned away from the Sandman. It might have been foolish of him to expose his back to his greatest enemy but he knew that the Sandman hadn’t come here to fight.

“You’re still here?” Pitch asked after a couple of minutes of total silence, irritation evident in his voice.

Sandman floated in front of him. Waving his hands to get Pitch’s attention, he showed him more sandy images. It took Pitch a while but the Boogeyman finally understood their meaning.

“You came here to help me, is that it? You are more foolish than I thought. I do not require your help nor do I want it. Now, would you just go away?”

Pitch didn’t really think it would work but he found himself mistaken. Sandman sighed and gently landed on the floor. He looked up at Pitch defeated, and nodded.

“Finally!” Pitch replied. But the Sandman didn’t move from his spot. Instead, the little Guardian reached into his golden attire and took out two small, empty bottles. He gave them to Pitch and the Boogeyman, surprised, accepted the gift. “What is it?”

A bed with sleeping and smiling Pitch appeared above Sandman’s head. Then the sand creating the image filled the bottles.

“For good sleep?”

Sandy nodded.

“You know I could just change it into the Black Sand, right?”

A look of uncertainty flashed on Sandman’s face but it disappeared quickly. He smiled instead and without answering Pitch question, he waved him goodbye. Before Pitch could react, Sandman was already headed towards one of the dark hallways. The Dreams Sand that filled the chamber rose into the air and flew after him.

Darkness swallowed the room. The only source of light was left in Pitch’s hands. Two bottles of Dream Sand glowed faintly, barely managing to lit the Boogeyman’s face.

“Well, that was peculiar, “ Pitch commented.

For a few minutes, Pitch just stood there, unmoving and looking at the bottles. He wasn’t sure what to do with them. As he told the Sandman, he could just turn the sand black, but there was too little of it to even bother. It was barely enough for one, weak Nightmare.

Truth be told, Pitch didn’t feel like dealing witch Nightmares at the moment. Or for the next couple of decades for that matter. Instead, he tucked the Dream Sand safely into his robes. He would deal with it later.

The Realm was quiet and empty. Usually, in every corner, a Nightmare would be hiding, waiting for an unsuspecting victim. Now, there was nothing. The Sandman took away all of his Nightmares. For that, Pitch was grateful, thought he would never admit it. Ever since he lost to the Guardians, he couldn’t control his creations. They were more powerful than him and that was terrifying. Sandman helped him, probably more than he meant to, by turning them back to his Dream Sand.

The only things left in the Nightmare Realm were darkness and fear – the two things that the Boogeyman had always had and would always have under control. His primary weapons and manifestations of his power. They were too weak to defeat the Guardians with – that was why he had to create Nightmares – but they were his domain. For now they were enough to make him feel comfortable and safe.

Quite content with himself, Pitch left the chamber and headed towards his workroom. He had so much work to do! With the Nightmares disturbing him lately, he had had no time to devote to practicing his original power. He had neglected it and he regretted it. It wasn’t too late to make up for the lost time, though.

The workroom, just like the rest of the Realm, was dark. It suited Pitch’s purposes well most of the time but not this day. Pitch wanted to practice his control over darkness and when all that was around him was darkness there could be no controlling it. Despite his discomfort with light, Pitch lit all of the candles that littered his workroom. Their glow was so bright that only few corners remained hidden in shadows. That was all the Boogeyman needed to start his work.

Controlling darkness was natural for the Nightmare King. The darkness and fear listened to him and bowed to his every whim. Pitch was glad that his mastery didn’t dissipate with time. Still, he spent hours practicing. He bent shadow according to his will. He made lights flicker with so much as a thought. He transported himself from one place to another using darkened corners as his doorways.

Unfortunately, Pitch was still weak. After two hours of such exercise, he was exhausted. After three, he couldn’t stand straight anymore. Even though, he was reluctant to go to his bedroom and rest. The Sandman might have converted all of the Black Sand back to Dream Sand but it didn’t mean that the Nightmares weren’t around anymore. As hard as it was to admit, Pitch didn’t enjoy having nightmares, especially when he wasn’t at his best yet.

But… the Sandman had given him some of his Dream Sand, hadn’t he? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to use one bottle tonight. That was why he left it for him, wasn’t it? So Pitch could sleep peacefully.

Pitch didn’t like that idea. However, he the prospect of being tortured by nightmares was even less appealing.

The Boogeyman considered pros and cons and came to a conclusion.

With hunched shoulders, he heaved a deep sigh. Darkness followed him as he walked to his bedroom. He lied down on his bed and took out both of the Dream Sand bottles from his robe. One of them, he put on his nightstand. He held the other firmly in his grasp.

It was his last chance to reconsider his decision.

The smell of fear grew stronger in the air. 

Pitch opened the bottle and poured its contents over his head. He fell asleep before the emptied bottle hit the floor. And in his sleep, he dreamt.

* * *

 

_The weather was beautiful. Scent of flowers filled the air. Sun shined brightly high in the sky. It was the perfect summer’s day._

_He was sitting in the high grass, just on the boarder of a clearing in the forest. There, he was safe from sunrays, protecting his sensitive skin from sunburn._

_The sun, however, didn’t disturb his daughter. The girl was laughing happily, dancing around the clearing, her flowery dress swirling around her knees. Her dance attracted a swarm of butterflies which flew above her._

_The girl reached up and a single butterfly landed on her finger. She smiled brightly at the little creature. Then, she lifted it to her lips, and gave its wings a gentle kiss._

_The butterfly flew into the air. It didn’t rejoin his swarm and instead it flew in his direction. It sat down on his shoulder. The delicate wings brushed against his chin gently._

_He smiled brightly at the butterfly. His daughter laughed happily at the sight and soon resumed her dance in the grass._

_It was a beautiful day. Probably, the most beautiful day in his life._

* * *

Pitch woke up. He didn’t move for a couple of minutes, remembering his dream. Usually, memories of his daughter only brought him sadness and intensified feeling of loss. He knew he could never see her again and that knowledge hurt. This time, however, it was different. The dream was in fact a memory. A memory of day long gone but happy none the less.

Pitch was used to think of his daughter only with sadness and hurt. He couldn’t comprehend haw it was possible for a memory of her to bring him happiness. And yet, it happened every time he had that particular dream. He would see his daughter and butterflies and he would wake up happy and peaceful. And more rested than ever before.

He knew he owed it to the Sandman for only the Dream Sand could bring him happy dreams. He just didn’t like to think about it and seeing how rarely the dream happened he didn’t feel the need to be grateful for it. After all, Sandman used his sand mostly to knock him out.

This time it was different. The Guardian left his sand with him so that he could dream. It was a gift, a sign of good will. A sign that the Sandman, one of the Guardians, actually cared for Pitch Black, Nightmare King and the Boogeyman. And maybe this time Pitch was a little bit grateful for the dream he received.

Pitch sat up. There was no reason for him to stay in bed any second longer. He was rested and full of energy, ready to face new day.

As he stretched his eyes fell on his nightstand. To his surprise he found there both bottles, even though he clearly remembered _not_ putting there the bottle he emptied last night. On top of that, both of the bottles were filled with the Dream Sand. A cup filled with black coffee sat next to the bottles and a plate full of ham and cheese sandwiches was placed right in between.

Sandman must have crept into his room while he had been sleeping and leave it all for him.

Pitch scowled. A talk about privacy was needed in the near future. It was alright for Sandman to give children dreams when they slept but breaking into the rooms of other spiritual beings was a whole different story.

The coffee and the sandwiches smelled and looked really appetizing, though. He didn’t need food, per se, but it still wouldn’t hurt to eat some. Food could also help him regain his full strength a little bit faster.

Deciding that it wasn’t a bad idea, Pitch sat down to eat his breakfast. It was the first time in ages when he actually ate something and, truth be told, it felt good. The sandwiches disappeared in no time. So did the coffee, which was surprisingly still hot. How long ago had the Sandman left it here?

With new strength and full of energy after finishing the breakfast, Pitch left his bedroom, ready to face the new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll add the next part as soon as I finish writing it. Be patient.


	3. Working Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the last part. Sorry it took so long but the chapter turned out to be much longer than I expected.

Being Guardian of Dreams had its advantages. One of them was that when Sandy focused on a person, he knew whether they were asleep or awake. For the past few weeks he had been using this ability to keep tabs on Pitch. He wanted to be sure that the King of Nightmares slept enough and that he had enough of his Dream Sand whenever he needed it. The bottles that he had given Pitch needed refilling and best time to do so would be when Pitch was sleeping.

During the first night Sandy had nearly missed the right time to visit Pitch. He had had so much work to do that only when he sensed that Pitch was close to waking up, he decided to put off his duties for a quick visit to the Nightmare Realm. On his way, he had noticed that somebody had left their supper untouched. Without thinking much about it he had grabbed the abandoned plate with sandwiches and a cup of coffee from the table, silently promising himself that he would return the dishes the next day.

There had been no way for him to know if Pitch would be willing to eat anything the Sandman gave him but he knew that real food would give Pitch his strength back quicker than sleep alone, so Sandy figured it was worth a try.

The Dream Weaver had found out the very next day that his idea turned out to be a success, when he returned to Pitch’s Realm to refill the bottles and found an empty plate and a cup waiting for him on the nightstand. He had smiled then, proud of himself and of Pitch for having the courage to trust him. Ever since then, whenever Sandy visited the Nightmare Realm he always brought something to eat and left it on the nightstand together with refilled bottles.

Sandy always paid much attention to what he brought for Pitch - he wanted to make sure that whatever food he gave him, the Boogeyman liked it. And so, Sandy soon discovered that Pitch’s favorite drink wasn’t coffee as he believed for so long but instead he liked tea with milk the most. While cookies weren’t the best idea, crackers turned out to be a great success – Sandy had left whole two extra-large packs of them once, thinking they would last Pitch for some time, but they were all gone by his next visit. Trying out new dishes and discovering Pitch’s favorites became something like an entertaining game for Sandy.

At the moment, the Sandman was in Europe, sending dreams to children. Pitch hadn’t gone to sleep yet so Sandy had a lot of time to find something new to leave for him for his next breakfast. He figured he should try some traditional European dishes, preferably ones that could be served cold. Maybe some snacks, too.

The Sandman looked below. The strands of golden sand were dancing above roofs of houses. The town was small and it wouldn’t take long for the Dream Sand to find all the children and give them sweet dreams. The town was the last one in the country for Sandy to visit. The next country on his list was Poland. He didn’t have many believers there but he visited it nevertheless. The thought of leaving any child without dreams, even if they didn’t believe in the Sandman, was unbearable for him.

After he left the town, Sandy’s thoughts went back to Pitch. He wandered if any Polish dish would taste the Boogeyman. One of the most popular snacks there were pretzel sticks. Seeing how much Pitch enjoyed salty crackers it would be safe to assume that he would like the sticks, too.

Sandy moved to the nearest town. While his sand was busy at work, he entered a supermarket and quickly found was he was looking for. The variety of pretzel sticks struck him. He had no idea there were so many kinds and brands. After a couple of minutes, he picked two different bags, left the change on the cash desk and left the building.

The night seemed to be darker than it had been before he entered the supermarket. It could have just been his imagination but somehow Sandy doubted that. There was another possible explanation but he couldn’t be sure. Only when he heard a voice coming from shadows, could he confirm his suspicion.

“I’ve never thought I would find you here, Sandman.” Pitch was leaning against the wall of the supermarket. His posture was casual and it indicated that he hadn’t come here with intention of starting a fight. “After all, only Tooth and North have believers here.”

Sandy smiled brightly at him. If Pitch was here, it meant that he was finally strong enough to cross Realms on his own. All of Sandy’s work seemed to pay off. Still, he remained cautious. It was a known fact that the Boogeyman never sought anybody out unless he had ill intentions in mind. For now, however, Sandman decided to trust him. After all, it would be unfair to always assume the worst about a person.

A single question mark formed above his head.

“I wanted to talk with you.” Pitch answered. “There are few things we need to discuss and the sooner we do it, the better.”

Sandy nodded his head and formed his sand in an image of two large ears. He noticed than, that his sand already finished the work in this town. It was high time to move to another place. Before Pitch could open his mouth in response, he held up a hand to stop him. The Dream Cloud formed under his feet as he explained Pitch that he had work to do.

Pitch scowled at him. “You agreed to talk with me and now you make excuses.”

Sandy shook his head. He wanted to talk with Pitch. He just couldn’t abandon his work. The two things, however didn’t have to exclude each other.

With an encouraging smile on his face, Sandy invited Pitch on his Cloud with a hand gesture.

“You want me to come with you?”

Another enthusiastic nod was his answer.

Uncertainty flashed on Pitch face. He quickly hid it under a mask of indifference but Sandy could still see it in his eyes. The Sandman frowned. He had no idea why Pitch wouldn’t want to go with him. It wasn’t as though the Boogeyman was afraid he would attack him, was it? After all, it was Pitch himself who sought him out and not the other way round.

Sandy tapped his foot impatiently. There were children waiting for him! He couldn’t spend half of the night waiting for Pitch to make up his mind.

Then, a thought struck him. If he couldn’t convince Pitch to step on the Cloud by being nice, maybe bribery was the right way to do it.

Sandy took the packs of pretzel sticks and showed them to Pitch. He waved them over the Cloud, indicating that he would give them to him if Pitch took up on his offer.

Pitch eyed the packs. Unconsciously, he licked his lips. With that gesture, Sandy knew he won.

“Alright.” Pitch said finally.

Carefully, the Boogeyman stepped on the Dream Cloud. He stood on the very edge, as far away from the Sandman as possible. Sandy understood his previous reluctance immediately. Pitch _was_ still wary of him. He sought him out, yes, but he remained in shadows where he could run away if such necessity arose.

Sandy’s smile fell. He didn’t want Pitch to be afraid of him.

“What are you waiting for? Weren’t you supposed to be working?”

It was true. But Sandy couldn’t move the Cloud with Pitch so close to the edge. He told him that by forming a miniature sand cloud above his head with a small Pitch standing on it. The cloud moved and the small Pitch fell to the ground.

Even though Pitch clearly understood the meaning of the small display, he didn’t move even by an inch from the edge. He just stood there, his arms crossed over his chest and a look of defiance on his face.

His stubbornness actually managed to irritate the Sandman. It was clear Pitch had no intention of moving. Sandy had no other choice but to make him. Without warning, he move the Cloud. Pitch lost his balance immediately. Small yelp escaped from his mouth. He flailed his hands desperately but with nothing to hold on to, he soon fell and landed safely on the soft cloud.

Pitch lifted his head and glared. Sandy couldn’t help but smile. He raised an eyebrow at him and let his expression say _‘I told you so’_ for him.

“You did that on purpose.” Pitch accused him.

Sandy shrugged in response. He sat down on the Dream Cloud, next to Pitch’s head and opened one of the bags of the pretzel sticks. The smell of salt filled he air. He didn’t like salty things that much – he preferred sweets and creams – but he had to admit that the sticks smelled and looked quite tasty.

Before Pitch managed o get up, Sandy moved his Cloud one again. It rose quickly high to the sky and then rushed to the next town at top speed. Under such conditions, Pitch wasn’t able to stand up at all. His only option was to sit up and even that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

Seeing how the Boogeyman struggled to lift himself up, Sandy took pity on him. He slowed down the Cloud and using the sand he flipped Pitch on his back and then formed an armchair right under him. Soon, Pitch was sitting quite comfortably. Sandy formed another armchair for himself so that their heads were more or less at the same lever – otherwise he would have to look up at Pitch and that just wouldn’t be good for his neck.

Pitch was fidgeting in his seat. He looked uncertain, even more so than before, and tried to move from the Sandman as far away as possible. This time Sandy decided to ignore his behavior. Instead, he brought the opened bag of pretzel sticks right under Pitch’s nose, practically forcing him to take some.

The gesture caused Pitch to pause. He eyed the bag and after a moment of silent contemplation, he helped himself to handful of salty sticks. Sandy smiled at him brightly and took some sticks for himself.

“As I said, I want to talk with you” Pitch reminded him and without further encouragement he continued: “As you can see, I’ve regained some of my strength since our battle last month. I have to admit, as much as it pains me to do so, some of the credit for that goes to you.”

That was as close as it could get for Pitch that he was grateful. In response, Sandy waved his hand trying to express: ' _No problem.'_

“There are, however, a couple of problems regarding your way of helping me.”

Sandy raised his eyebrow, questioning.

“First of all, you cannot just break into my room while I am sleeping. I don’t know if you realize how rude and simply creepy such a behavior is. Seeing as I cannot stop you from venturing into my Realm, I request that you do it at least when I am awake.”

Sandy’s mouth fell open. Had Pitch just said what he believed he did? Had the Boogeyman understood what he implied? It was practically an invitation for the Sandman to visit whenever he wanted as long as Pitch was awake at the time. Then, another thought struck Sandy. If Pitch wanted him in the Nightmare Realm when he was awake, did it mean that he wanted to meet and talk with Sandy when he was there?

It was better than Sandy could hope for. After all, Pitch could just forbid him from visiting at all. Instead, Sandy got an open invitation.

The little man smiled brightly. He lifted his hands with thumbs up, showing that he agreed to Pitch’s terms.

“Good.” Pitch said but for some reason he looked even more tense than before. “Now, there is one other matter I would like to discuss with you. Your help for the last couple of weeks turned out to be very… efficient.”

That meant ‘ _thank you_ ’ in Pitch’s strange, round-about way. Sandy mentioned ‘ _you’re welcome_ ’ with a hand gesture but the Boogeyman didn’t see that. He wasn’t even looking his way, just staring uncomfortably at his lap. And, apparently, he wasn’t done yet.

“I realize you didn’t have to do all of this. If you wanted to make sure that I was alright and that I would survive, all you had to do was to get rid of the Nightmares. Which you did. All your actions from that point on – like bringing me food, refilling the bottles… even giving me your sand at all – it was unnecessary. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy it.” He amended quickly. “It’s just that we both realize that you didn’t have to do that. And yet, you did. I keep wondering: why?”

Pitch finally looked up from his lap. His brows were furrowed in concern and his eyes were full of uncertainty and maybe a tiny bit of hope. Sandy felt an urge to hug him but he stopped himself.

The question was unexpected, to say the least. Not because it wasn’t a good question but because Sandy never even thought about it. He had so much fun discovering what Pitch liked and what he didn’t, so pleased to know that the Boogeyman used his Sand in a proper way and not to create Nightmares that he didn’t even consider the possibility that he might have already done enough to help him.

In response to the question, Sandy could just shrug helplessly. He didn’t know why. He just knew that helping Pitch made him happy and he showed that by forming a smiling  Boogeyman face which consequently changed into a smiling Sandman face.

“You’re strange, you know that?” Pitch sounded tired but there was a sign of relief in the way he relaxed almost immediately upon hearing Sandy’s answer. As if he had been afraid that if he pointed that out, Sandy would suddenly stop caring. Silly Pitch. Sandy would never do that.

“You know, your fellow Guardians wouldn’t be happy to know about what you are doing for me.” Pitch pointed out after a couple of minutes of silence, filled only with the sound of them chewing the pretzel sticks. “I am your enemy, after all. My sole reason for existence is to frighten the children you fight so hard to protect. There is no way we could ever live in harmony.”

Oh, yes, there was. The food and Dream Sand weren’t the only things that Sandy had in mind when he thought about helping Pitch. There was one other subject that needed taking care of. Sandy put it off, however, until Pitch would be strong enough to try his idea. And now, Pitch was sitting here, with him, after leaving the Nightmare Realm all on his own. He got his powers back and Sandy decided it was as good time as any to start working on his plan.

A light bulb appeared above Sandy’s head, shining brightly.

“You have an idea.” Pitch sounded surprised.

Sandy puffed his chest and held his head high. _‘Of course I do’_ – said his posture.

It wasn’t hard to put what he had in mind into sand pictures. It was his way of communicating and it felt natural for him. The problem was that sometimes he got too eager to explain something and his images flashed too fast for others to understand him. That had never been the case with Pitch. The Boogeyman always understood him perfectly no matter how fast he ‘talked’.

“Oh!” The sudden realization that appeared on Pitch’s face was priceless. Sandy had never seen him so surprised at anything. But then, it changed quickly into irritation. “It’s not going to work.” Pitch said. “Fear and darkness aren’t meant to work in such way. They exist to frighten, unsettle and… and… and they are in no way what you describe them to be.”

Sandy crossed his arms. With a raised eyebrow he looked skeptically at Pitch.

“I am sure.” Pitch answered sounding very confident in his words.

They could discuss it but it probably would take them ages to reach some kind of an understanding. They also could leave the subject as it was and never come back to it. It wasn’t, however, what the Sandman worked so hard for. He hadn’t spent weeks thinking of a way to help Pitch and then have it dismissed so easily. That’s why instead of continuing this pointless conversation, Sandy simply lowered his Dream Cloud and parked it in midair near a child’s bedroom. He jumped down from his armchair, leaving the back of salty stick behind.

“What are you doing?” Pitch asked suspiciously.

In response, Sandy just mentioned to the bedroom, as if inviting Pitch inside.

“You cannot be serious. You are serious. I can see it in your eyes. You want me to go there. Are you mad?”

Sandy stomped his foot. It didn’t make any sound seeing as he was standing in the Dream Cloud, but the gesture was enough to show Pitch that he’d better hurry and just enter the bedroom already.

“If you insist. But remember, little man, if something goes wrong, you are the one to be blamed.”

Pitch sneaked into the bedroom with Sandy right behind him.

The bedroom was small but it had all what a little boy needed to have a happy childhood. Multiple toys were littering the floor, picture books stood neatly on the shelves and the walls were painted in light, cheerful colors. The boy himself slept peacefully under his covers, dreaming of Superman (as indicated by a tiny Superman-looking sand figure floating above his head).

“What do you want me to do?”

Sandy hushed him. Pitch was too loud – he could wake the boy up!

“Oh, right. I forgot they can hear me while they’re sleeping” Pitch whispered. “Still, you have to tell me what to do.”

It was good. Pitch sounded as if he was willing to try and that was what Sandy needed of him.

The little boy – Tomek was his name – was a big fan of Superman. It was his favorite superhero. His parents bought him a costume of Superman for his birthday last week. Tomek was so happy. He wore it everyday.

Tomek was very imaginative boy which was good… most of the time. However, as was the case with many children, he couldn’t really tell the difference between fiction and reality. He believed almost in everything – he was one of the few in whole Poland who believed in the Sandman. He was also one of those children who believed that if you put on a cape you could fly. It was only a matter of time before he jumped off the roof or his bedroom window and hurt himself.

Sandy told Pitch all of that. After that, the Boogeyman understood perfectly what he was supposed to do.

“You cannot show him yourself that what he is planning is dangerous for him. You can only give him good, optimistic dreams. That’s why you want me to make him realize it. By using fear.”

Sandy nodded. That was the whole plan. If Pitch used his fear in small doses it could actually have positive effects. It could make children cautious. They wouldn’t be going to the forests alone, they wouldn’t be crossing the street without watching out for cars and they wouldn’t be jumping out from their windows wearing capes. It could do a lot of good as long as Pitch wouldn’t overdo it.

What was more, if it worked, Pitch would no longer be the enemy. He could become a friend. The Sandman was very excited at the prospect and he didn’t even try to hide how happy he was that Pitch decided to give it a go.

“As you wish.” Pitch said.

He leaned over the sleeping boy. Suddenly, the roomed seemed a lot darker. And colder. Even the smell of the air inside the room changed. Sandy was reminded of the Nightmare Realm and he couldn’t surpass the shudder that crept on his back. Even though, he stood still, watching Pitch carefully.

The Boogeyman didn’t seem to do much. He just whispered a few sentences into the boy’s ear. But it seemed enough to make the dream change. The sand remained gold but the Superman disappeared. His form changed into one of a little boy. The boy stood on a windowsill, ready to jump.

Before that happened, Pitch straightened his back. He moved away from the bed, grabbed Sandy by his arm and swiftly left the room through the window, dragging confused Sandman behind him.

Sandy was too surprised to resist the handling. Only when they were already outside, he formed a question mark, demanding an explanation.

“Just lower the Could.” Pitch answered him. “You’ll see soon enough.”

The Cloud lowered, as Pitch asked. It was so near the ground, that Sandy had to stand on tiptoes to see into the bedroom. And what he saw, surprised him.

The child-figure with a cape, jumped from the sandy-windowsill. It didn’t fly, of course. Instead it fell on the ground and then sat there crying.

Tomek woke up. He didn’t scream or cry like a child who just had a nightmare. No, he just sat on his bed, breathing heavily and looked startled but not frightened.

Sandy, aside from being able to tell if somebody was asleep, had many different abilities. One of them was that he always knew hopes and dreams of a person – it helped him conjure dreams that fit best an individual. In this moment when he looked at Tomek, he was able to tell that the child still wanted to fly. But something changed. He no longer hoped that the cape would enable him to do so. One dream was enough to disregard the whole idea. Tomek was no longer in danger. It was brilliant!

Sandy jumped happily up a couple of times. He quickly moved the Dream Cloud away from Tomek’s bedroom, making sure that the boy wouldn’t notice him and only then he turned to Pitch.

Oh, he was so proud of him. And Pitch looked to be proud of himself as well. Sandy thought of a best way to share their first victory. High five seemed not good enough, so did pat on the back. But there was another way.

Before Pitch could do something to prevent it, Sandy shot into the air, just enough for their eyes to be on the same lever, and hugged him tightly.

To his surprise, Pitch didn’t shove him back. They stayed like this, Pitch unmoving and Sandy embracing him, for whole five second until Sandy realized that hugging the Boogeyman for too long probably wasn’t the best idea and let him go.

Pitch looked as if he had no idea what to do. It was up to Sandy to think of something but for the first time in ages his mind was completely blank.

“I imagine it worked pretty well.” It was Pitch who broke the silence. “I think we could try it with other children and see if the effects would be the same.”

Sandy nodded eagerly. A clock with a question mark in place of the hands appeared above his head.

“I think I have enough strength to work some more tonight. You could just point me to the children and I would try my best to… help them. That is, unless you do not have time tonight…”

He had time. He always had time for children and, lately, also for Pitch. The Dream Cloud moved under them. This time the armchair prevented Pitch from falling. Sandy hopped onto his own armchair and together they moved on to the next town.

* * *

That night they moved through all Europe before Pitch was too tired to use his powers. He had left enough to go back to his Realm.

As Sandy had promised, he stopped sneaking into Pitch’s bedroom when the Boogeyman was asleep. Instead, he started making his visits after Pitch woke up. He still brought him breakfast and snacks but now they ate it together – for some reason Pitch said it would be rude to make the Sandman leave without some kind of treat, and Sandy didn’t mind.

Every time, after breakfast, they would both travel to some place where there was night at the moment. Sandy would send his dreams to the children and Pitch would make them realize the dangers of life with his whispering and a small dose of fear.

They were working together every night and slowly, very slowly they realized that they really enjoyed each other’s company. The mutual work also had its benefits. Pitch wasn’t alone anymore, and seemed less prone to anger and bitterness. He smiled more often and it wasn’t the evil and insane smile that the Guardians were used to see on his face. No, it was a smile of contentment, a pleasant warm smile that made Sandy feel almost gleeful every time he saw it.

Pitch wasn’t the only one who took pleasure in working together with the Sandman. Sandy himself was so much used to traveling through the night alone that he never even thought how much fun he could have with traveling in company. He could talk with Pitch better than with any other person – Guardian or not. Pitch would help him conjure more interesting dreams for the children who enjoyed a bit of fright in their nightly adventures. Before long, it turned out that together they worked so much better than each on their own.

After a month of their every night ventures, Sandy finally decided that it was high time to inform other Guardians about Pitch. As it was to be expected, none of them were happy with that. But Sandy was stubborn. After hours of heated discussion, some shouting and one miniature sandstorm they all came to the conclusion that even though Pitch wasn’t to be trusted, what he did with the help of the Sandman could be beneficial. And so, all of the Guardians agreed that Pitch could use his powers on children as long as it was with good intentions in mind, and Sandy or any of the other Guardian would accompany him. It fit Sandy just perfectly.

Pitch wasn’t exactly happy to hear the news.

“I do not require a baby-sitter.” he said with distaste.

Sandy pretended to be offended in return. He turned his back on Pitch. With his sand he formed a miniature version of himself and Pitch. The mini-Sandy walked away and his place was taken by mini-Bunny. The Pooka didn’t look happy.

“Then again” Pitch continued as if he hadn’t seen Sandy ‘talking’ “I’ve already got used to our nightly escapades. It would be a shame to end them now. Your fellow Guardians might not have realized it but they did me a favor by enforcing that rule.”

Sandy spun back to Pitch. With a smile on his face he asked a question.

“I do not like you.” Pitch answered. It was a lie and Sandy could see right through it. The way Pitch kept avoiding eye-contact and the purple hue that suddenly spread on his cheeks – Sandy called it ‘Pitch-blush’ – gave it away. “What I meant to say is that I enjoy your company. Prior to our small alliance, I had never thought that you might turn out to be such a pleasant person to be around. I…” he stopped for a second. Then cleared his throat. The next words left his mouth so quickly that they were barely comprehensible – as if Pitch was afraid that if he didn’t say them fast enough, he would loose all courage and not say anything at all. “I deeply regret that I didn’t try to get to know you sooner. I believe if I did, we could avoid the whole fiasco with me trying to get rid of the Guardians… and of you in person. I cannot express how much I regret now shooting that arrow at you” –Sandy rubbed his back unconsciously– “and I know that I can never repent for that, or for any of my evil deeds, for that matter. However, I feel the need to apologize to you for everything that I’ve ever done to hurt the children, Guardians and… you. So, I am sorry for all I’ve done.”

Sandy felt tears filling his eyes. The apology wasn’t the masterpiece of poetry or anything like that, but it was the most beautiful thing he ever heard. He knew Pitch was honest and he knew how hard it must have been for him to say all those words.

Still, Sandy couldn’t forgive him. It wasn’t his place to do so. He couldn’t forgive him for the children, because even though he was their Guardian he couldn’t speak in their name. He couldn’t forgive for other Guardians – Pitch should apologize to them personally. He couldn’t even forgive him for himself because he had already done so a long time ago, even though to this day he didn’t know why. Maybe it was because of they joy that they both shared while helping the children. Maybe it was because Pitch tried so hard to change. Or maybe it was because of how Pitch’s smile made him happy, how spending time together, eating, working and talking, brought smile to his own face. Maybe it was because of the slowly developing friendship that grew between them with every passing day, and friends simply couldn’t hold grudges against each other. Sandy didn’t know. It didn’t really even matter. The only thing that mattered was for Pitch to know that Sandy had forgiven him – if not for others at least for himself.

For the second time since he knew Pitch, Sandy rose into the air and hugged him. And for the first time, Pitch, after a moment of hesitation, returned that hug. They stayed like that for few long minutes, neither wanting to let go.

“I’m sorry.” Pitch whispered, burring his face in Sandy’s hair. “I am so sorry…”

Sandy patted his head in slow gentle motions. _It’s alright_ – he wanted to convey through his gesture. And maybe it was enough and Pitch understood but Sandy wanted to make sure. 

He leaned back a little. Pitch looked up at him. In response to the surprise that he saw on Pitch’s face, Sandy smiled warmly. He moved his hands and rested them on Pitch’s cheeks and slowly moved their heads closed. The kiss he placed of Pitch’s forehead was just a peck but it meant so much more in that simple moment. Sandy put into it all of his feelings – his forgiveness, belief in Pitch and all the affection he had for the Nightmare King.

Pitch blushed again – this time a deeper shade of purple colored his cheeks. He clearly had no idea how to respond to such treatment. He wasn’t used to affection. And that was alright, Sandy would teach him, slowly, at a pace that Pitch would be comfortable with. For now, Sandy just took his pale hand into his golden one and formed his Dream Cloud under their feet. They still had work to do – children needed their dreams and caution during the day.

That was what the Sandman and the Boogeyman worked so hard for every night. And if they sometimes held hands together while traversing the night sky, if they shared a warm embrace after hours of work well done, if they ate breakfast together, talking about nothing in particular, if after some time a kiss to the forehead changed into a kiss on the lips… it didn’t matter to anybody else but to themselves. Because as long as children continued to have sweet dreams, as long as they paid attention while crossing the street and didn’t try to fly on their own, they were happy and the Guardians were happy. And so were Sandy and Pitch and nobody could deny them right to make each other even more happy by simply being together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. The end.
> 
> I would like to thank all of the people who left comments and kudos and all of you who read it at all. I realize it's not the best story out there but I put a lot of work into creating it. As I said, it's my first English fanfiction but it's also my first RotG story, first story that's so fluffy [I usually stick with angst or adventure] and one of the few that actually has a happy ending. So, yeah, this story is special to me. And I hope that you enjoyed reading it even a little bit as much as I enjoyed writing it :)


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